Haunting past
by EvilQueen2015
Summary: After the curse is broken Regina is haunted by her past (Takes place straight after curse is broken.) (trigger warning for dark themes)
1. Chapter 1

_Hi there! :) this is definitely not my first story but it's my first one under this pen name._ _For some reason this was stuck in my mind and I spent all day writing a 5 chapter story. I'm not sure if I'll give it a sequel, I'll need to know there's people that want it. Tell me what you think._

 _This is season 1, after the curse is broken. **Trigger warning for later chapters.**_

* * *

As Evil Queen I'd hurt a lot of people but most of all I'd hurt myself. Every moment after Snow White had told my mother about Daniel, I'd tried to hurt her as much as she'd hurt me. But the only one who'd ended up alone was me.

Now that everyone remembered who they were and what had happened, I had to face my own past. One that hadn't been full of me doing everything I could to hurt everyone around me and push everyone away.

My past had been filled with pain and suffering, not only the people around me but me too. My marriage, though short, had been filled with it.

For the longest time I'd been able to forget about it, about life in the Enchanted Forest. But now that the curse had been broken, all those memories returned and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

As Emma Swan kissed my son and broke the curse I knew that there was nowhere for me to hide. I wouldn't be able to see my son for a while probably and my heart was hurting because of that.

And for the first time since my marriage, I felt fear.

* * *

" _You may now kiss the bride."_

 _The words echoed in my ears as I turned my head toward the man beside me. King Leopold was old enough to be my father and that realization had brought tears to my eyes when Mother had told me I was to_ _marry him._

 _Knowing my mother though, I had nothing to say about the matter and I did my best to accept the situation. I was making my mother's dream come true._

 _Marriage to a king._

 _His lips pressed upon mine in a bruising kiss, and my mind flashed to a wedding night I was hoping would never happen. The way I imagined it was filled with pain, and that was not how things were supposed to be._

 _As he pulled his lips off of mine, and I resisted the urge to wipe my hand over my lips, he turned me toward the crowd._

" _I present to you, Queen Regina."_

 _The crowd went wild - it had been long enough without a Queen, and they were excited to have a new and fresh Queen._

 _They didn't care that I was half his age, young enough to be his daughter. They didn't care that I only had a couple of years on Snow White, their princess and now, my stepdaughter._

 _Not even my mother cared._

" _I'm so proud of you baby," Mother said as the king lead me down the aisle, his hand holding my arm tightly. "You make me so proud."_

 _My heart swelled even though I knew my mother had just sold me to the highest bidder - she was proud of me for the first time since I could remember and for some reason, that was still what I lived for._

* * *

My head was pounding as I hurried through the empty streets of Storybrooke.

Even though the reason I cursed the Enchanted Forest wasn't legit anymore, I still felt the anger after all those years. But something had changed.

I had changed.

After 28 years in a land without magic, even while I was one of the few that remembered the curse and the life before it, I had changed and I believed it was all because of Henry...and Emma Swan.

As I reached my mansion, I heard something behind me. There was a chill going down my spine as I turned around to see what was going on, but it didn't prepare me for what I saw.

A dozen townspeople, glaring at me.

I had expected them to come, sure. But I hadn't expected them to be here this soon. I could feel my hands as they turned clammy and there was an unfamiliar feeling for fear tingling in my body.

A dozen townspeople, angry with me for casting the curse, but most of all, for hurting them even _before_ that.

* * *

" _I am so happy that you are my new mother," Snow White smiled at me and even though I was supposed to hate her, I felt my heart skip a beat as I smiled back. She might be my only ally in all this, maybe she could help me feel safe again._

" _Of course you are." My voice sounded hoarse, but my throat hurt from holding in my frustrated screams._

" _Tomorrow, we'll begin our lives together and we'll have so much fun!"_

 _I wasn't even paying attention to her chattering anymore when my new husband looked over at me. His eyes showed something I really rather didn't see in there, and the shiver that went down my spine startled me._

" _I think it's time to consummate this marriage." The words, coming from my mother, drained my face from blood and I blinked at the sudden change in temperature in the hall._

" _I couldn't agree more," King Leopold said with a grin on his face. I watched as he stood and moved toward me, and I could hear Snow gasp in delight as her father picked me up out of the chair. "Everyone enjoy the party, it doesn't matter how late you make it."_

 _He walked out of the hall under applause and cheering, looking down at me with something that seemed a little more evil than before._

 _Not even two steps outside of the hall, after the doors had closed behind him, he dropped me to my feet and grabbed my upper arm._

" _Leopo-" I started but he cut me off by pulling me against him roughly, his face like thunder._

" _I know you lied to your mother," he snapped, his upper lip curling in a way that seemed like a snarl._

" _What are you talking about?" I asked him, thinking back on the last time I had a real conversation with my mother._

" _You fucked the stable boy before she killed him, so I know you're not a virgin anymore."_

 _I frowned at him, my throat constricting at his mention of Daniel, my head hurting at the thought of my love buried in the cold ground._

" _I never - I didn't - I-" I couldn't even get the words out._

" _Anyway, it means I can do as I please to my bride, I won't have to be afraid I'll hurt her."_

* * *

I shivered at the memory, very aware of the danger in front of me but not being able to stop the memories from assaulting my brain.

"Pure evil, ladies and gentlemen," Doctor Whale said as he pushed forward, grabbing Regina's arm in a vice like grip.

"What do you think you're doing, Doctor Whale?" My voice was steady to my immense pleasure.

"Emma broke the curse with True Love's kiss. That means everyone remembers what you did." He pushed me against the front door of my house, knocking the air out of my lungs in the process and glared at me.

"That still does not explain what you think you're doing."

He was quick, his arm suddenly pressing against my throat just enough to make me short of breath.

"I'll tell you what I think I'm doing - I'm seeking and finding revenge for all the things you did to all of us. As the Evil Queen and as mayor Regina. You killed and hurt the people we love and us, and this land just makes it easier for us to hurt you back."

"What are you planning to do, huh? Kill me?" I asked, my voice shaking despite my efforts to keep my fear at bay. I rubbed my hands on my pants and swallowed, hoping against all hope there was someone out there that would see what was going on and help me instead of wanting to hurt me.

"Oh no, you deserve so much more." Whale changed position, now holding my throat with his hand and he, again, put just enough pressure to make me short of breath. Lightheaded.

"Yea, much, much more," someone from the back yelled and I felt another shiver.

This didn't bode well for me at all.


	2. Chapter 2

_I ached all over as I woke the morning after my wedding. The king had promised me a night to remember and he had definitely delivered. In a way that brought permanent pain and temporary bruises._

 _He hadn't noticed, but I'd still been a virgin. Even as a young girl in love with someone who had made love before, I had been able to keep it from happening before a wedding._

 _I'd still been a virgin when he consummated the marriage with the force of a man in lust, when he pushed and pulled me into positions that hurt even more than the one before. When he pulled my hair and rode me from behind._

 _My eyes burnt, both from lack of sleep and from the tears brought on by pain. My entire body burnt, everything he had touched, felt like it had been scalded by burning hot water._

" _Regina, you should be up by now."_

 _His voice startled me out of my reverie and made my heart pound in my chest. I didn't want him anywhere near me, ever again._

" _I'm coming."_

" _You'll be doing that a lot more, my Queen," his voice made me lightheaded and not because his promise made me swoon because I liked it. The fact that, now that we were married, he had leave to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted it made me want to pull my own heart out and crush it._

 _The tingling sensation up and down my spine seemed to never stop when he was around._

* * *

I looked around all those angry people and tried to figure out how to get out of this predicament.

I didn't stand a chance with or without my magic, especially not against this angry mob. Whale still held me in place, still kept me lightheaded.

"You know what? I've been thinking about this for a while, at least before the curse hit, and I realized that you look especially appetizing when you're afraid."

"I'm no-not afraid," I said, my voice hitching as he unexpectedly pressed his entire body against mine, making me feel just how hungry he was for his revenge.

After trying to swallow against the bile that rose in my throat, I looked around and noticed something that surprised me.

The people that Whale had brought with him, they looked uncomfortable at the insinuation and some were even trying to make a move against him.

"Stay back, she deserves this." His voice was sharp and he put more pressure on his hips as he said this.

"No she doesn't, she never raped anyone here did she?" Someone said and I closed my eyes, tried to focus on the goods things going on around me. It didn't help that I could smell him on me, and it didn't help that today of all days I was remembering my past in a way I hadn't in a long time.

There weren't any good things around me. Everyone close to me right now wanted to hurt me and I didn't stand a chance against the dozen.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

The voice of the Savior sent a short burst of hope through me as I opened my eyes, and saw the pissed look on Emma Swan's face.

"She deserves to be punished!" Whale pushed against me again, but this time Emma was there to push him off of me.

"Christ, what do you think is going to happen if you hurt her or whatever you were planning on doing?" She snapped as she pointedly looked toward Whale's crotch. "Do you think you're magically going to feel better after you've hurt her, huh?"

Emma looked around as she took position in front of me, her body like a shield protecting me. But I couldn't let hope take over because I had learnt that even people willing to help me could turn against me when they knew what I'd done.

"Actually, yes I do." Whale was the only one though, and I felt relieved even though just a little when I realized that everyone else in the group had deflated.

"Then, as the Sheriff, I will put you in a cell to calm down," Emma said as she moved so quickly that even I didn't realize what had happened until it had already happened.

"Hey! You can't do this!" Whale protested as Emma led him, handcuffed, to her bug. "I will get you, Regina! I will get my revenge!"

* * *

" _My Queen."_

 _My face hurt from all the smiling as I looked up at my new husband. Our first day of marriage had been a test, and it was one I was probably failing miserably._

" _Husband," I looked up at him and noticed the same look in his eyes as the night before. "I am so very tired tonight, I think it's time for me to retire."_

" _Do that, I will be right up," he grinned at me and I shivered at the sight. Before I could think of something to say, he pushed me toward the door and all I could do was go with it._

 _Once I was in my room I tried really hard not to burst out in tears, knowing what was coming tonight was as bad as the night before and maybe worse, and it made my chest constrict._

 _It didn't take long for the king to burst into my room, not giving me a chance to react before he pushed me against the bedpost and kissing me hard._

" _Leopold," I tried, turning my head just enough to breathe. He took my breathy voice as arousal and kissed my neck while he pushed me aside and onto my bed with much more force than I expected._

 _I tried pushing against him but that, too, spurred him on._

" _God Regina, you are a fucking tease."_

" _Please slow down," I blurted out as he tore at my dress. "Don't do this."_

 _He froze, but only for a moment. I could see the muscles in his jaw working and in reaction my body started trembling, the fear gripping me._

" _You don't get to tell me what to do, my Queen," he gritted out as he moved even faster, simply lifting my skirts and ripping at the fabric beneath. "You get to endure, you get to give me my heir, and you get to take what I give you even if you do not want it!"_

 _My heart skipped a beat at the anger in his voice, and as he moved, I tried to catch my breath. He pushed inside of me and I screamed._

 _It didn't take long for him to finish, his hand over my mouth and nose making it hard for me to get enough air let alone scream._

" _I hope it takes a while for you to get pregnant," he said as he wiped himself on my dress. "I like this way too much for it to be over soon."_

 _It took all my energy to catch my breath, so my only reaction was the single tear that rolled down my cheek and into my hair._


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you for the follows and faves and especially for the review :)_

* * *

There was a knock on the door and I practically jumped out of my skin.

Whale had gotten to me more than I'd like to admit and as I walked over to open the door I scolded myself, reminding myself that I was the Evil Queen.

I opened the door to Emma, who looked pissed still and I almost smiled. She wasn't just the Savior for the others, but seemed to take it upon herself to be mine too.

Even though I'd almost killed her son.

"You alright?" Emma asked as she pushed past me into my house. I threw up my hands as a protest, but she didn't even notice.

"I'm fine miss Swan." I followed her into my kitchen, where she was already pouring herself and me a drink. "Make yourself at home," I bit out and she just looked at me, one eyebrow raised.

"Regina, I need a drink after having had to listen to that...psycho rant about how you have been hurting everyone for decades, bla bla bla," Emma rolled her eyes. "I also needed to come check on you because I didn't feel right, leaving you after what had just happened, and you don't even know how Henry is."

I looked up at Emma as she mentioned Henry, trying to let her know I wanted so badly to know how he was doing. "I...I'm fine, but I do appreciate you coming back."

I looked down at my hands again as she stared at me intently. She pushed the tumbler toward me and I took it, grateful to have something to occupy my hands with.

"Good. Well, since you won't ask Henry is fine, he's going to be able to go home after a night of observation."

I put my hand against my chest as the relief washed over me. My son was okay. He would live.

No thanks to me.

A tear tried to escape but I caught it just in time, quickly wiping at my eye as I blinked.

"Perfect," I said after I was sure I could trust my voice. "So where are you taking him?"

Emma looked at me, her eyebrows drawn together in surprise. "Um, I'm taking him to Mary Margaret for the time being."

I closed my eyes, trying to push down the rush of emotion. "I thought you'd leave. After all, I tried to make you go away and instead almost killed Henry."

"Don't remind me." Emma snapped and then emptied out the tumbler before pouring herself a new one. "But even though that happened and even though Henry is having trouble with trusting you right now, I can't just take him away. You raised him, for ten years you've been his only family and I don't…"

"I'm sorry, miss Swan. I didn't mean to insinuate-" I stopped when Emma raised her hand to cut me off. "I'm just glad you're not taking him away before I get the chance to talk to him."

"I know. But just so we're clear, you don't get to see him alone anymore. I...I don't trust you either. I don't want to hurt you, not like the people who lived here for 28 years, but I wouldn't want you to think I'm your friend or that I'm staying for you."

I nodded in understanding before I emptied the tumbler and held it out for a refill. "You were just doing your job."

It was more of a statement than a question and Emma nodded. She had been doing her job keeping the mob of angry people at bay, it wasn't because there was anything that made her want to help me.

"Exactly."

"Well, it's a first someone helped me even if you were just doing your job so I'd like to thank you. I owe you one." I hated saying that. But I did owe her one, I owed her my life and I was sure I needed to return the favor sooner rather than later. On my terms, too.

I would not let myself be used or abused anymore.

"You really don't. I did what anyone would have done," Emma said shaking her head. She did not realize the situation I noticed.

"Emma, none of the people living here would've helped me even if they thought Whale was crossing a line. The moment he told them to stay back, they did," I said with my heart skipping a beat at the thought of Whale doing as he wished in front of those people.

"This town is fucking crazy," Emma muttered before she turned her gaze on me. "Listen, I don't...I'm not sure what is going to happen, and if I could make that decision I would take Henry and leave. But the fact of the matter is you adopted him, _you're_ his mother and I really don't have a say in what happens to him."

I looked at her, my mind racing as I processed what she was saying. She wasn't going to take Henry. Even though everyone around them would expect Emma to take control, Emma wouldn't. Not in the way everyone wanted.

"I just...I thought you'd want to take him back now, knowing what you know about me." I cursed my show of weakness, but with everything going on I felt vulnerable and I didn't know how to pull the wall back up in such a short amount of time.

"I'm his mother, but you have custody. No matter if you're mayor Regina or the Evil Queen or whoever. All I can do is stay around and hope you don't mind," Emma said with a shrug, even though I could see it hurt her a lot to say that.

I swallowed, "I don't mind you staying around. Especially if you're going to keep doing your job."

Emma stood to her feet, happy with how the conversation had gone and took her leave.

For the first time since the curse had been broken I felt like something in my life was worth living. Something in my life was good enough to keep me from turning back to who I was just to protect myself.

* * *

" _How was your wedding night dear?"_

 _My mother's voice broke through my thoughts._

 _It had been a couple of days since my wedding night, and the king had visited me in my room every night except last night._

 _I looked up, blinking as my mother moved closer and licking my lips nervously._

" _It was…" I didn't even know how to call it. It was painful, because he had been more forceful than I'd expected. "Nice." I settled on the easiest answer, knowing Mother she would take offense if I told her the past two days he had forced me._

" _That's good dear, very good."_

 _It wasn't until she left when I looked down at my lap, and noticed she's left something behind. I lifted the rattle, the blood draining from my face as I realized what she was hoping for._

 _When I realized she was hoping for a grandchild, and I realized she probably wasn't the only one wanting me pregnant, I felt a tear slip down my face._

 _And I desperately hoped that it would never get to that._

* * *

The darkness of the night enveloped me and before all of this, I reveled in it. Darkness was what I was best at, before the curse but during too.

Now though, I didn't feel safe alone in the huge house I'd given myself. I felt small and very much alone, without Henry there.

"You're alone...good, I needed you alone."


	4. Chapter 4

My heart seemed to skip more than one beat, as my ears tried to make sense of what I'd heard.

It was a voice I hadn't heard in years.

It was a voice I had never ever expected to hear again and it brought back all the memories of the past to the forefront of my brain.

King Leopold.

My tormentor, my living nightmare. And, if I let it, my demise.

"I bet you are surprised - I can't see much of you," his voice came again through the darkness, and my body started remembering all the kind of sick things he had done. The phantom pains started, especially between my legs.

"I thought you were dead." I shook my head as I tried to get out of my bed. Somehow though, my body wouldn't work with me. "I killed you."

i remembered pulling his heart out, crushing it in my hands. Rumplestiltskin had taught me just weeks before and I had been too impatient to wait another minute - I needed to end my torment.

"You thought you killed me." His voice was closed this time and my heart skipped a beat before banging against my ribs in a fast rhythm.

"How…"

The bed dipped and I scrambled to the other side as he came into the light. He, too, hadn't aged since the last time I saw him.

"I think his name is Gold here. He did something to me to make sure I wouldn't die...only I wasn't able to save my kingdom from your torment. You murdered all those people, _my Queen_ , and you will pay for that. You will also pay for everything else you did, plus, casting the curse."

Before I could react, or process what he was saying, he had me how he wanted me.

My hands above my head, my legs pinned beneath his. His weight pressing down on me, pressing me into the mattress.

"Gold did what to you?" I asked trying to keep him from doing anything right away. I looked to my nightstand where my phone was.

All I had to do was press a button and the sheriffs office would be called. Which meant the only person that was able to help me would get the call and would be here within minutes.

"I don't know, he suspended me in time. I was able to watch everything from a distance but I couldn't do anything." He rolled his hips over mine and made a sound of pleasure. "But now I can punish you in ways I've been imagining."

Bile rose in my throat and I turned my head just in time. His lips landed in my neck, and while it hadn't been his plan he took his time kissing my neck.

Until he stopped and bit me hard enough to break the skin, draw blood, and a gasp from me.

For some inexplicable reason I fell back into old habits - don't move too much otherwise he'd hurt me too much. Don't say too much, otherwise he'd bruise me in ways people would be able to see.

And I let him do what he wished even though I'd become stronger since the last time I saw him.

"Wait," I said, my mind all of a sudden realizing what was going on, who he was and who I was. "I do not have to accept this!"

I pushed against him, even though I didn't stand a chance. I just did not want him to think he had me where he wanted me - the obedient wife.

"What do you mean, you do not have to accept this? You're my wife, my _Queen_ and you have to do as I tell you!" He growled and I shook my head, struggling free of his grip on my wrists.

"You were dead! I haven't been your wife or your _Queen_ in a long time and I am not going to get back to that time in my life," I said as I finally had the room to push him off of me. He looked at me like he was seeing a ghost, horrified at my attitude. "Get the fuck out of my house!"

I pulled him up, taking advantage of his surprise.

To be honest I never really thought I would get this far, and because of that I forgot. I forgot how fast he was for his age and how strong he was.

So when he got over his surprise, he surprised me by slapping me hard enough so that I felt my knees almost give in, and I slammed into my bedroom door.

"How dare you?" He asked, the anger in his voice terrifying me. "How dare you disobey me?"

I raised my hands to my cheek, feeling the heat radiating off of my face as I gently rubbed my hand over the warmth.

"I…" I trailed off when he stepped toward me, raised his hand again and grabbed my by the back of my head. "Let me go!"

He simply smirked at me as he tightened his grip, making me bite my lip and moan in pain, and then he threw me back on the bed.

"You will obey me."

He pinned me to the bed with his body again but this time there was no getting out of it, no matter how hard I struggled. I cursed myself for wearing the flimsiest of pajamas, because it took no effort for him to tear it off of me.

He wasn't wearing the hardest thing to take off either - for some reason, no one had noticed a middle aged man in a skirt walking around town. He pressed me into the bed again after ripping my pajamas off, his lips on mine in one of his bruising kisses, one hand pinning both my hands above my head, while his other hand was massaging my breasts, then my stomach, hips, and legs with bruising force.

"Stop," I managed to say, before he slapped me again. My vision blurred for a moment, but I never stopped struggling.

"Keep your mouth shut!" He snapped at me, and pressed his hips into mine. "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this? Do you?" He seemed to like it when I struggled because he acted in a way he'd never done. Pressing her even more, he seemed to want everything I was able to give and more, and it scared me more than I dared to admit.

Before I could struggle, he had positioned himself, and before I could react, he had forced himself into me, making me scream in pain, my body seemingly bursting apart from the pain and my mind drifting to better times, times where I wasn't anyone but Regina.


	5. Chapter 5

_As of now I don't have anything planned yet, but if there's interest I can write a sequel. I hope you liked this, however dark it was. Thank you for the reviews :)_

* * *

The pounding in my head wouldn't stop, and neither would the heaving of my stomach as I sat, curled up in front of the toilet.

 _He_ was still out there. In my room. I just didn't have the strength to fight it anymore.

I could hear him walking around in my room as if impatient for me to return. I knew though, he felt like he had me where he wanted me, and he was enjoying it. He was enjoying breaking me again after all those years.

He was getting close, very very close to breaking me. I didn't know how long I'd be able to keep this up, not after hours, and hours of him taking what he wanted.

But then something happened that made me have hope. Again.

There was a knock on the door. I heard someone walk outside of my house and my heart jumped, recognizing the glimmer of hope.

"Regina? Henry wanted to see you, and I know you're in there."

Henry? Emma's voice echoed in my head and I felt the blood drain from my face as I realized what her words meant. Had she taken Henry to come see me? Even after everyone remembered and he knew I had been lying to him?

"Regina!" Emma called again, this time more urgent. Leopold was silent in the other room, and I swallowed hard as I heard Emma walk away again, my hope sliding away with the sound of her footsteps.

The door to the bathroom burst open and Leopold grabbed me, a fistful of my hair and pulled me toward the bedroom.

"Who was that, huh? Wasn't Henry your father? Didn't you kill him?" His voice sounded feral as he asked his questions and all I could do was shake my head. How did he not know what had happened the past 28 years?

But my question wouldn't be answered and neither would his. His patience was gone and his anger took over as he threw me toward the bed. The force shoved my body into the bedpost and I crumpled down onto the floor, the wind knocked out of me.

I think his anger blinded him because he didn't seem to think of what he was doing.

He kicked me, and it was all I could do not to cry out in pain as it blossomed in my chest. His foot connected with my ribs twice, then my stomach and even my shin when I pulled my legs up just so I could curl up in a ball.

And then he lost it, and I knew he was going to kill me. And to be honest, if this would be my life I really wouldn't want it any other way.

He kept kicking until the pain made me hazy on the details about what happened next. It was like my body shut down, the pain seemed to go away all of a sudden, and my vision turned black.

Did I die?

* * *

 _Beep, beep, beep…_

My eyes felt like they were glued shut and it took me a couple of times to be able to actually open them.

But then I felt the pain. The pain all through my body, everywhere I could think of hurt. I held my breath, trying to manage the pain but it was too much for me.

A tear slipped down my face and into my hair as I swallowed and moaned.

"Regina?" Her voice sounded so close, and then I realized I'd closed my eyes again and when I opened them, her face was inches away from mine. "You're awake...I'm not sure if that's a good thing considering but let me get the doctor for you."

"E-Emma?" I stumbled over her name, my mouth hardly complying with it. I didn't know why but it seemed fitting that she had saved me again. This time she had saved me from death.

"Yea, I'll be right back."

Time was different because on the one hand, it felt like hours before Emma returned with a doctor and on the other hand it seemed like seconds.

I tried to figure out my injuries but because everything hurt I couldn't.

"Well, Miss Mills. You took quite the beating," it wasn't Whale, and I was grateful for that. "Broken ribs, broken wrist, sprained ankle...bruises everywhere. I mean, this doesn't sound very professional but you are more bruises than anything else at this moment."

"Why thank you for that," I managed and Emma rolled her eyes. "When can-can I go home?"

I didn't know if I ever wanted to go back to the mansion but that didn't mean I wanted to stay in the hospital.

"You're probably going to hurt for a while, which means some things you just can't do by yourself like cooking and cleaning," the doctor said and I rolled my eyes this time.

"I can hire a cleaner and someone to cook my meals," I said before I realized - not in this town I couldn't.

I could see by the look on Emma's face that she doubted that too and I tried to keep my hopes up - I just wanted to go home.

"You'll need someone you trust to help you with a shower because of your ribs. You're lucky they didn't get to your face because judging from the marks over your body they kicked you while you were down." The doctor was just trying to get me to tell her what happened or who did it. I wouldn't tell her though.

"Stop. Stop pushing her after what she's been through. If you're okay with it Regina, I'll help you, clean, cook, whatever you'd need."

Emma looked at me with those big green eyes and I wondered, what did she know? Did she know who had done this to me? Had she seen him?

"Miss Swan-"

"Emma. And yea I know you would rather take care of yourself, but if the doctor says you need someone around for some things, it would be my pleasure to help you." Emma smiled at me even though I wasn't sure if she meant it.

"I will let you decide," the doctor said. "If you have someone to take care of you for a while you will be able to leave today or tomorrow. If not, you'll have to stay for a while."

"I just want to go home," I muttered as the doctor walked out of the room. While I contemplated what I wanted to do, Emma waited patiently and all I could think of was the dedication she showed to her job but also to Henry.

I couldn't help but admire her.

And so against better judgement, I nodded to myself.

I cleared my throat to get her attention. "Okay Emma. I would like to take you up on your offer. I'd appreciate it if you helped me as long as I need."

My biggest question was; where had he gone?


End file.
